Awning structure



Dec. 11, 1934. J. D. STEVENS AWNING STRUCTURE Filed July 25, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l an w . gwue'ntw I Jam .70]: l7. EZEVEJZE 3 J. D. STEVENS AWNING STRUCTURE Filed July 25, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 11, 1934 UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE- swnmesrnooronn Joseph 1). Stevens, Baltimore, Md. Application Jitly25, 1981, Serial No. 553,158

.2 Claims; (or. 150-42.);

inoperative position.

Awnings are extensively used in. both residentia-l buildings and industrial establishments.

It is customary practice I to hang the awnings by means of. hooks positioned, at. convenient points in the upper portion. of a window sash,

such hooks beingv connectable to a. rod usually" carried by a hemf'ormi'ng the upper extremity of the awning. A U-shaped rod is provided in the lower portion of the awning: in' order to spread the same when in operative position and this U-shaped' rod is either fixedly or movably' pivoted to the'window frame.

conventional construction effectively shade the against a window frame window when in use but, when inoperative position, do not fit snugly within or even tight with resultant loss in appearance to the building as well as frequent damage to the awning. Fires frequentI-yoccur,

feet of preventing. the utilization .ofshutters on.

ing material.

The conventional; awning 30;; windows so. shaded. In

particularly in office buildings; and rain water accumulates in the pocketsformed in the awnhas further deareas where severe storms are prevalent, shutters are deemed, to be essential in order to avoid damage. to. the; win.

dows- Moreover. shutters are desired. on: many residential buildings, principally for their es.- 35. thetic. effect. and yet their. utility is lost. when they are used .on. a window having. awningv of the usual type.

The present invention is designed to OVFCIECQHIB the defects above. referred to.

a window frame when Accordingly, it is an object of the. invention to. provide. an awning adapted to lie wholly inoperative position. i

A further object of the inventinn; i's to providean awning enabling the on the same window.

The invention includes utilization of shutters as-an object in combination a window frame provided with both invention will appear in detail in the following description, as, for

t the folding. of the ted in the. aocompanye Awnings of such Fig. 1 is a perspective. view of a window frame with the improved awning applied thereto.

Fig. 2 shows in elevation the awning in closed. position.

Fig. 3- is. asection Fig.2-

Fig. 4 illustrates the awning in openv position, showing means for folding the apron.

Fig. 5 shows a modified form of the awning in which the material is self folding.

Fig.6 is a. view of the rear of an awning with means to pull in the'side portions thereof.

Fig.7 shows. an alternative means for drawing in the apron.

In the-drawings, A represents the wall of a building, having a window frame 1 comprising a sill 2, a header 3,. and side portions 4,, 4. The side portions 4,. 4 are provided with a bead 5. for holding the sashes 6-, all as is well known in buildingconstruction. The sashes as shown are positioned with, the normally upper sash lowered so as to simplify the illustration. Shutters I, of the usual type, may be secured to the frame 1 by means of hinges 8- I My improvedv awning is generally designated by the numeral 9', composed of fabric material customarily employed in the art, and preferably though not necessarily provided with side portions 10 and an. apron 11'. The upper portion of'the'awni-I'ig. is'permanently or detachably fastened to the upper strip ofbeading of the window frame and, in either case, the attachment is so effected that. the upper extremity ofv the awning lies: wholly within the limits of; the frame.

For positioning the awning, when in lowered position I-. provide a. generally, U-shaped rod 13 of the nature of the rodsnow known in the art. The rod 13' is, however; so designed with relation to the window frame as to: lie wholly within the heading when in'raised position. is accomplished by making the foremost portion of the rod to be of a length appreciably less than the distance spaoing the vertical beads 5. The side portions of the rod may be parallel to each other and therefore at right angles tothe foremost portion, for a major portion of their length. Near the inner extremities of the rods 1.4, offsets or elbows" 15 areprovided, ending in heads I6 which may be secured to the beading by suitable means such as screws 17. It will be seen that. this construction enables the rods, when. in. raised positiorrto lie wholly within the frame and in spaced; relation to the frame to allow for the folds. The rods may be carried in a hem taken on the line 3 3- of in the awning material in the manner usual in the art.

Accordingly, it will be seen that the construction above described permits the awning to hang in a pleasing and effective manner When in use and to be housed within the limits of the window frame when in inoperative position.

In most awnings an apron will be employed and the apron usually overhangs by several inches the main portion of the awning defined by the rods. Such aprons do not ordinarily fold compactly and I have provided means to effect proper folding and avoidance of bulking of the material. Such means comprises a stay 18 contacting with the apron throughout a substantial portion of the length of the apron. The stay is secured to the apron at convenient points such as shown at 19, Figs. 2 and 4. The main portion of the stay 18 is spaced from the ro'd14'and hingedly connected thereto as at points 20, 20, the connection being such as to permit of at least partial rotation of the stay about the rod 14. Ordinary screw eyes serve well for such hinges. The rearmost portion of the stay 18 is offset at a point rearward'of the corresponding hinge and terminates in an arm 21. The arm 21 in turn is bent right angularly so as to enter an eye 22 maintained in fixed position. In the frame illustrated the extending portion of the arm 21 where it is bent at an angle for passing through the eye 22, is disposed in an angle slightly in excess of a right angle and the free end is also disposed so that it extends slightly upward from the horizontal when Viewed with the parts in the position assumed when the awning with its apron is extended. The eye 22 may conveniently be the extremity of an elbow 23 secured to the beading by means of screws24. This arrangement is such that the eye with the angularly disposed arm portion passing therethrough produces a cam action whereby the awning is raised thereby causing the extension of the stay 18 to pivot about the eye 22 and thus effect partial rotation of the stay 18 about the rod 14. The apron, being secured to the stay, is

thus folded inwardly of therod 14.

Alternatively, a modified formof means for retracting the apron is shown in Fig. 7. In this form a cord or like flexible element 25 is sepreferably mounted'on the bead 5. Upon tensioning the cord 25, the apron will be drawn in to a corresponding degree.

I preferably crease the awning material along the lines of fold as in the manner shown in Fig. 5 'so that, when raised, the material will inherently fold in a compact manner and readily assume the position illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.=

.tions 90/. and 9b and the apron 11a, and the 75 manner of creasing causes the material to tend to fold as illustrated while the awning is being elevated to its closed position. The pull-up cord 12a for elevating the awning is divided at its lower end to form extensions 1219, which extensions are connected to the apron 110. at the points on the side walls thereof as indicated at 1127. The cord or rope 12a passes through an opening 90 formed in the section 9a and passes through another opening 9d formed in said section, to the interior thereof. When the awning is in position for use the pull cord extends through an eyelet or pulley at the top of the window frame with its end extending downwardly for the convenience of the operator. It will be seen that when the awning as shown in Fig. 5 is'to be raised-to a closed position, the operator by drawing onthe inner end of the pull-cord will cause the apron to be first folded inwardly and thereafter the pull will be applied to draw the lower outer part of the awning upwardly. Due to'the creased lines of fold the awning sections will tend to fold as illustrated and the further closing of the awning will result in the same assuming a' compact formation.

In some cases it will be desirable to provide positive means for drawing the sidewalls inwardly during the raising of the awning. Means for accomplishing this result is shown in Fig. 6. In this, a cord 30 is stretched between the two side walls and attached thereto as at 31, 31. By simply depressing the cord, the side walls will be drawn toward each other and so tend to fold toward the inner portion of the awning.

Conventional means may be employed to raise the awning. However, due to the lightness of the construction, a single cord centrally positioned will ordinarily be sufficient for the purpose. -A cleat 32 is provided for securing the cord and maintaining the awning in raised position.

With the awning above described and illus-.

trated, it will be seen that all the desired utility for shading is preserved and likewise that the awning is entirely disposed within the window frame when not in use. Thus interference with the operation of shutters is entirely avoided and so the occupant of the building is enabled to obtain thebenefits; of both elements.

While the invention has been described inspecific form for purposes of illustration I do not confine myself to the details of the invention except according to the following claims.-

It will also be apparent that the awning maybe used in conjunction with a door frame and the term -frame appearing in the claims is used generically.

I claim:

1. An awning for use in conjunction with a framecomprising a sheet of fabric material secured along one edge to the frame and a pivoted rod, said rod being secured, to the fabric adja cent the free edgethereof and holdin he sheet in extended position when the rod is swung outwardly, said awning includingside walls, an apron arranged along and extending from the lower portion ofthe sheet and below the rod, a stay fastened to said apron having an offset portion rotatably connected'to said rod, and means ,for effecting a rotation of said stay and a resultant movement of the apron when the rod is pivoted upwardly in the raising of the awning whereby the apron will lie compactly folded against the remainder of the awning.

2. An awning for use in conjunction with a frame comprising a sheet of fabric material secured along one edge to the frame and a pivoted rod, said rod being secured to the fabric adjacent the free edge thereof and holding the sheet in extended position when the rod is swung outwardly, said awning including side walls, an apron arranged along and extending from the lower portion of the sheet and below the rod, a stay fastened to said apron having an offset portion rotatably connected to said rod, and cam mechanism for efiecting a rotation of said stay and a resultant movement of the apron when the rod is pivoted upwardly in the raising of the awning whereby the apron will lie compactly folded against the remainder of the awning.

JOSEPH D. STEVENS. 

